Xavier Student Works with Cincinnati Health Department about Health Disparities

On August 23, 2008, the Cincinnati Health Department will host a “Cincinnati Conversation” to discuss the health needs of minority communities and develop collective strategies to address those needs and move towards eliminating racial health disparities. The Cincinnati Conversation will take place at the Community Action Agency, 1740 Langdon Farm Road, on Saturday, August 23, from 10 am to 4 pm, and is free and open to the public.

The Cincinnati Conversation is part of a nationwide initiative by the National Partnership for Action to Eliminate Health Disparities. The Ohio Commission on Minority Health has funded a total of 19 conversations across Ohio to develop local strategies to end health disparities. The results of these conversations will also feed into a statewide plan through the Commission.

“There are many people and organizations working on disparity-related initiatives in Cincinnati,” explained Dr. Camille Jones, City of Cincinnati Assistant Health Commissioner of Community Health and Environmental Services. “We see this as an opportunity to nurture a community process to achieve health equity.”

Xavier senior Rachel Solomon interned this summer with Xavier’s Women’s Center. A psychology major, she chose to work with the Cincinnati Conversation, planning and organizing the event with Intisar Khanani. “It really has been a great experience for me,” Solomon says. “I felt I was given just the right amount of responsibility yet still had Intisar's guidance along the way. It has been really special to me to be such a big part of something that is so helpful and so proactive about the health needs and overall disparities in Cincinnati. The internship has given me the chance to really expand my boundaries and be part of something I feel is important.”

The project is supported through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and State of Ohio, Commission on Minority Health; the Community Action Agency; Xavier University College of Social Sciences, Health & Education; Xavier University Department of Nursing; Xavier University Department of Social Work; Kroger and Bigg’s.

For more information about the Cincinnati Conversation, or to confirm attendance, call Intisar Khanani at (513) 357-7482 or e-mail minorityhealth@cincinnati-oh.gov.